What kind of owner do you want to be?

A lot of the owners on here haven't lost the enthusiasm that non-owners have... They're just as if not more enthusiastic BECAUSE of ownership... i've been very fortunate to meet, ride and drive with some of these people and will never forget them... My life has literally changed because of this site and the people i've met through it... Thank you; to you, i'm eternally indebted... Everyone should be aspire to be owners like you.

 

Since everyone wants to be the cool down to earth owner, can I be the arrogant prick?

 

Ferrari owners are just a group of people with something in common, but they are still people, and I don't care what label you give to any group - gopher watchers, butterfly collectors, tennis players - there will be alll kinds of different people in any group. F cars owners are no different. There will be nice guys, mean guys, stupid guys, arrogant guys etc etc, and not always consistently so. A nice guy one day may be a jerk on another because the Patriots lost or his wife left him for the poolboy.

All I know is that the times that I can get together with other Fcar owners in a common environment like a FCA club concours or a drive is really a lot of fun, because the guys who turn out for those things are generally very agreeable people. A-holes with Ferraris were probably that way before the Ferrari and will be well after they don't have the Ferrrari any more.

I don't think of myself in terms of my F car ownership, as an F car car owner so to speak. I try to define myself a little more generally, as a husband and father and colleague and friend, but hardly ever in terms of something that is defined by a material value.

I love cars, as my profile will show, but I'd give them all up in a heartbeat rather than lose the things in life that really make it worth waking up in the morning.

 

Joe Martz came up with it. First appeared on Ferrarilist.

 

I seem to get the impression that it's mainly the owners of not-so-new Ferraris who adhere to the "code of conduct". At all the shows I've been to you very rarely see cars newer than 355s or Testarossas, and all the owners are nice to each other and to the public.

I still get the impression that most of the owners of newer Ferraris such as 360s and 550s fit the "arrogant prick" label. I think they feel that mingling with owners of "lesser" Ferraris is beneath them.

 

Ditto!!!!

 

YES, great minds think alike!

That should be a plaque or framed quote that goes along with every Ferrari owner. If somebody creative could call it 'Ferrari Owners Code of Ethics' or something along that lines... it was a good, well written post!

 

I am an owner who loves tinkering with my ferrari, gets off on the growl of the flat crank V8 and webers, the smell of gas and leather and being so low to the ground. as long as your clothes are clean, anyone can come along for the ride

 

Very well said. Offering rides to those that don't have an F-car is very rewarding.

Art

 

Wow that's a broad brush you're painting people with! I think you may be the one with the feelings of having a "lesser" car.

Our club in Arizona (FCA AZ Region) has several dozen members with "newer" Ferraris and they are all very nice and enjoyable people. They come to club events with their cars and are happy to show them to anyone who is genuinely interested. As I said earlier, you get all types across the board and some of the most arrogant Ferrari owners I have met are the ones who drive the cheapest Ferraris, especially when they don't know I am a fellow F car owner. Typical situations are at car shows where the general public is around and these owners don't want anyone, particularly kids, near their cars. Why show them in the first place?

Personally speaking, I love the marque, regardless of the car model and I don't feel any less of a person when I drive my $25,000 '77 308GTB than when I drive something that is worth more and is newer.

In fact the 308 really gets attention from kids, because it looks like a real Ferrari, according to my kids. I will never turn down a request from a kid who wants to sit in my car. A kind Ferrari owner gave me that thrill when I was eleven years old and the feeling stuck forever. I have kids crawling all over the F40 every time it is out and I just love the look on their faces, especially those who know what an F40 is.

 

I don't think my car is "lesser" but the fact is that none of the shows I attended this year had any 360s, 550s or 575s (aside from one being shown by the dealer). Most of the cars were 308s thru 355s, Mondials, Testarossas, the occasional BB or Daytona and a few of the classic 250, 330 or 365 models from the '60s.

All the owners were congenial to other owners and spectators. I had much fun giving kids their first seat time in a Ferrari, even if it was at rest. But where were all the owners of the newer cars?

 

At the country club!!!!!!! LOL!

 

Daniel, nicely done...

Mostly I’m a gearhead. Cars are one of my few hobbies and I’ve owned and raced many different brands. I respect Ferrari for it’s entrepreneurial founder, their racing history, the brilliant (mostly) engineering and their stunning (mostly) beauty.

Besides DRIVING in our great (finally) Phoenix weather, I had three great car days in the past month:

1. Being stopped by a bunch of teen boys in my neighborhood as I was leaving in my 550, and spending over an hour with them talking about cars; theirs, mine, and those we dream about owning and driving someday

2. Spending a morning with a bunch of Ferrari Club members at Alex Papas’ house watching the Brazilian GP and hanging out in his garage

3. Spending two hours one Saturday morning with the service manager of our local Ferrari dealership, walking around his shop talking cars. The new Maserati Quattroporte is nicely done by the way…..

Just a gearhead I guess……

 

I wish to be the kind of owner that is like every owner here on f-chat... And the ones I've met from the Ferrari club of Arizona... These are truly great people. One of the kindest things ever done for me was by an f-chatter... He woke up extra early to drive over to my area, and to give me a ride in his TR at 8am... I'll tell you, that smile didn't wear off my face until a a few weeks later... Ferrari owners are awesome people, especially the ones in Arizona!!!

Also, we're all people, so why not respect each other?

 

I don't have an answer to why you don't have late model F-cars at the car shows you attend, but we certainly a good amount at every f-car event in the DFW area. Some of my favorite people to "mingle" with are fellow f-car owners - some with the same model number, some with different (higher and lower series - makes no difference to me since they are all damn cool). I don't think any of them think or have an impression that I am an "arrogant prick" because of the car I drive. Perhaps the common denominator as to why the newer car owners aren't attending the shows you attend is, well, you. I certainly would not be interested if your behavior or the behavior of your peers towards me was in any way reflective of your views or assumption about newer f-car owners.

 

Believe me, I want to believe that they are no different than the rest of us. But their non-appearance at these shows can only lead to the opinion that they are being overly protective of their cars. (Of course, I can see their point: if their car cost 5 times what I paid for mine, they have a right to be nervous!)

I don't know why Atlanta would be any different than DFW or Arizona or wherever; I can only report what I've seen. Certainly if they come I'd be delighted, and as courteous towards them as I hope they'd be towards me.

 

Jim -

I know what you're talking about... BUT... here's hope: the NC event we're having this weekend is slated to see several 360's ! The few 360 owners I've met are incredibly cool about their cars.

Speed Racerette - If I'm correct, the 360 is the most commercially sucessful car in Ferrari history. Stats would suggest there are more of them on the road than aging 3x8's, right? If that's true, why don't we see more of them at enthusiast events? I'm just trying to figure it all out.

-d

 

Daniel, I'd like to make your event this weekend, but unfortunately I can't.

Aside from car shows, I've also been on some drives in the country with other F-car owners, and, again, no newer cars. 308s, 328s, 355s, a Mondial, a Berlinetta Boxer. Not even a TR on these, and certainly no 360s or 550s. Strange, isn't it?

On the other hand, I gave one of my coworkers his first F-car ride on Friday. It was supposed to be our day off but we were both in for a few hours. Nothing fancy: out of the plant, clockwise around the perimeter of Dobbins ARB, and then back. (I always love the looks on the guards' faces when I enter in the 328, flashing my badge and a grin!) The kid, who is about 24, says he really enjoyed it. (And it was just warm enough for me to take the roof off.) Interestingly, his last name is Antonio, but he's actually Greek, not Italian!

 

I go w/ the gestalt. Then, "less is more".

 

D-

I am not sure why you aren't seeing more of them on the road where you live....I see them here a lot - if you check out the DFW Spotters thread, they are spotted all the time by others f-chatters. Tillman and I have even joked that they've become a dime a dozen because we see them all the time. There were several at the recent carwash event at the f-car dealer and we had a few participate in the fall rally.

It does seem kind of weird that you don't see a lot of them...I noticed that the EC/NY group as well as the So Ca. group also have a lot of 360's participating in their events. Go figure. It would be interesting to plot a map with all the owners to see if they fall into demographic clusters.

 

I DO NOT want to be like the guy I spotted the other day.

He was in a red 328 by my house, I gave him a thumbs up and said nice car while driving next to me. Not being in the 308, but in a Hyundai, he scowled at me, and turned off 1/4 mile later.

What an ass.

 

Maybe he was just having a bad day?

There are days when I would gladly see everyone else on the face of the planet disappear. If you catch me on one of those days, you'll probably get a similar reaction -- regardless of what you're driving.

Most days, I'm happy to talk to people and let them interact with the car. In fact, someone in the local club drove my car last night. As far as I know, it was his first time driving a Ferrari.

RE: the newer vs the older cars, I think that you get all types of owners in all types of cars. I know 360 owners who ONLY take their cars to shows, and 328 owners who do the same. I know 360 owners who use the cars daily and 328 owners who do the same. I really don't think you can pigeonhole people jsut based on their car ownership.

 

BTW, Daniel, I LOVE that photo in your profile. One of the best photos of a Ferrari in motion I have ever seen, and totally captures the joy of it.

Makes me pine for the car even more. Congrats!

 

Thanks! It was taken during a rally this summer. My passenger and I were having a great time. And this particular picture was taken AFTER he cracked my air-dam (first time he ever drove a Ferrari) going into the gas station.

Big whoop... we had a kickin' time and it's only plastic. I loved the opportunity to let somebody else drive my car and have some fun with it.

(At VIR a few weeks ago, I tossed the keys to another co-worker of mine who also ripped it around the track. You know, from the passenger seat, the 348 is actually quite comfortable!!)


-d